Boy charged with arson in school fire
By Times Staff Writer
Published April 20, 2005

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NEW PORT RICHEY - River Ridge High School students spent about an hour out in the sunshine Tuesday morning while Pasco sheriff's deputies and fire officials investigated a blaze near the school's theater.

The fire happened at about 10 a.m. and burned a stack of plastic chairs on a second story hallway. It also resulted in the cancellation of the school's prom fashion show, which was getting under way. Later Tuesday, deputies arrested a 13-year-old boy, whom they accused of setting fire to the chairs with a lighter. The boy, whose identity the Pasco Times is withholding because of his age, faces charges of arson and disruption of an education institution. He was taken to a juvenile assessment center.

[Last modified April 20, 2005, 02:56:36]